TEXAS ROADS (A Miller's Creek Novel Book 1) by Cathy Bryant

After the news about Mama Beth? No, she wasn’t okay, but it would be far too easy to get lost in his concern. She shrugged and focused her attention on a wispy cloud that drifted in front of the moon. “I don’t know. What about you?”
    “I want to be all right for Mama Beth’s sake.” His strangled words, raw with emotion, drew her gaze to his pain-etched face.
    She understood that kind of pain. Had felt its intensity and dealt with it more in the past year than she cared to think about. Without warning something inside shifted, as the stone façade covering her heart cracked a little then burst open wide.
    How long had it been since she’d felt anything other than numb, and for someone other than herself? Her long-lost compassion slashed wounds as it twisted through her body, and unbidden emotions surged to the surface. Feelings she wanted to forget.
    This was thin ice she trod. Dangerously thin.
    Steeling her determination, she squelched the feelings and stepped around him to make her way to the porch. As she passed, a single tear slipped down his cheek. Her breath hitched at the electrical jolt searing through her. Flinging her bag to the ground, she used her bare hand to wipe away the tear. Since when had his pain mattered more than her own?
    The sorrow in his expression rippled hurt through her chest. Dani pulled her gaze away and stooped to pick up her books. She refused to get caught up in the emotion of a moonlit night. Refused to open her heart any further to a man she barely knew. Refused to let herself care too much.
    He placed a hand on her arm, drawing her gaze to the troubled depths of his cinnamon eyes, his touch whispering against her skin. “Mama Beth told me you lost your father and husband last year.” His eyes bored into her with an intensity that slashed through the last tenuous threads of her resolve. “I want you to know how sorry I am.”
    She faced him, grateful he’d been the one to bring it up. Best to explain now, upfront, to make sure he knew where she stood. “Thank you. I know you’ll understand that right now I’m an emotional mess. I can’t allow myself to—”
    “I understand.” His voice fell flat and soft and sad.
    She ached to know what his tone implied, but it was too late.
    He’d already turned to go inside.
     
    * * *
     
    Two o’clock in the morning, and still no sleep.
    Steve shut off the droning noise of the television and stared at the ceiling fan, his mind reeling with the events of the day. Amazing how a mere speck in the vast eternity of time could alter things forever.
    Life could be so fickle. One minute you cruised along, able to take the speed bumps in the road, and the next minute you lay flat on your back on hot asphalt wondering what hit you. The news about Mama Beth crushed against him. Why, God? Why her? He groaned then wound both hands through his hair, fisting them. Please let her be okay.
    Steve pulled himself to an upright position and opened the window to let in the fragrant night air and chirp of crickets. The image of Dani’s tear-streaked face invaded his mind, and his throat constricted. Something about her sorrow touched him in a way he never expected. Her tears weren’t just an act. She truly loved Mama Beth, loved her as much as he did.
    Her gut-twisting words echoed in his head. “I can’t lose her, too.” He punched his pillow in frustration, and rolled onto his side, his chest tightening. Poor Dani. One more round of grief to add to her collection. Why had he ever doubted her?
    God, forgive me. I have You, but I’m not sure she does. Help me weather this storm in a way that pleases You and helps her.
    He puzzled over his feelings. Not since Lauren could he remember feeling this way about a woman, and it made no sense. Dani wasn’t the kind of woman he was looking for. Not only was she from the city like his mother, but probably wasn’t even a believer. His mind flashed to the scene in the moonlight. What had come over him? Why